These are interesting times we live in, especially for the automotive industry. Current issues range from Brexit woes to sales dipping in China, where trade tensions have affected profits.
However, analysts from Sanford C. Bernstein believe they see a way for two automotive giants to help each other out. Their solution? BMW should buy Jaguar Land Rover from Tata Motors, reports Automotive News Europe.
“BMW is overcapitalized and awash with cash. It has run into the limits of growth for its product range and brand,” said analyst Max Warburton in a research note. “JLR is severely challenged, both operationally and financially, but could massively lower both its fixed and variable costs under the wing of a bigger partner.”
Purchasing JLR for 9 billion pounds ($11.2 billion) could boost BMW’s earnings by 20%, added Bernstein. It would also contribute almost a quarter to the Bavarian automaker’s volumes. Yet, “Tata would need to swallow its pride to sell.”
Still, a purchase deal between BMW and JLR could also turn out to be “emotionally complex”, seen as how BMW has previously owned Land Rover back in the 1990s, which was a “traumatic period for the Bavarian company and there are executives in Munich who are still emotionally scarred by the experience,” wrote Warburton and his colleagues.
Also read: Jaguar Land Rover Developing Innovative 3D Head-Up Display
BMW is currently working through a $14 billion savings plan, while JLR is undergoing a 2.5 billion-pound ($3.1 billion) savings program and cutting 4,500 jobs.
It’s also worth mentioning that the two companies have recently decided to work together on the development of next-generation electric drive units.
“With Jaguar Land Rover, we found a partner whose requirements for the future generation of electric drive units significantly match ours. Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market,” stated Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development, earlier this summer.
